Thursday, January 8, 2015

I've been tempted to go and to
try yoga for several years. I would meet people occasionally bragging about
their yoga experience but not being able to formulate what exactly it meant or
did for them. Some would say that they found "the previously unknown
muscles" in their bodies that hurt after practice. Others felt nice
relaxation. But no one gave me any specifics WHY it was worth going. So one day
I decided to try it out for myself, thanks to my friend-Tatyana who brought me
to one of local classes. I wanted to understand what was so special about the
practice and why there were so many yoga studios popping up in every town. And
so I went.

I did a new client special for a
month where I could try any kind of yoga and any instructor offering the class.
(@ YogaLoft in Mercato, Naples http://yogaloftnaples.com/
). Here is the result. While Yoga includes partial mediation and relaxation
practice that might look like a Lamaze class to some active adults, it's
actually good for body and soul. It lets you be in the present and quiet your
racing mind. Yes, even relaxation can be a challenge. It takes me a
considerable effort to let my body and mind go into the la la land during the
session.

It stretches my body in a
different, new way. I'm a runner who also lifts weights 3-4 times a week but
yoga does something different to my body. While some poses might look easy to
do, they are not easy to hold correctly for a required length of time. All
poses require "how-to" knowledge of shifting or redistributing your
weight, so that you can hold yourself working and stretching your muscles. Some
seniors manage to stand on their arms and
the head. (Yes, this blows my mind too! This is definitely something to work on
for me) Yoga teaches me balance mentally and physically, giving lots of positive
energy.

Deep breathing is vital to yoga
practice. I've realized that I don't breathe deeply but tend to hold it, making
my breathing very timid. Deep, exaggerated breathing is very important to
mastering the technique.

Lastly, an experienced
instructor makes all the difference in understanding yoga to practice it
correctly. I was very lucky to meet Meredith Musick. She is serious about
teaching and correcting positions. My fellow-yogi might not agree with me and I’m
very tempted to know what they have to say to enrich my experience.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

While I'm not an expert in art
conservation, I am the artist who paints full-time. After years of painting,
conversations with other professionals and some research, I can offer my basic guidance
choosing oil paints. Feel free to research this topic further via my references
or by contacting products’ manufacturers, or any other way you may see fit.

Artists have many choices. Picking
the right brand of oil paint can be a challenge. Some brands are promoted so
heavily by art supply companies that artists buy their paint without a second
thought. When I was a student, the quality of paint hardly ever mattered to me
and my most common determinant was the price. Today as I take care of my art,
however, my buying choices are strongly influenced by the quality and lightfastness
of oil paint.

There are several important properties
of oil paint artists should pay attention to. The most necessary information can
be seen right on the tube. Don’t buy paint that doesn’t have the following data
printed on it.

1.Transparency vs. opaqueness of your paint.

An empty square, half-empty, or filled
square-gives artists information about the paint’s transparency. While some
colors are transparent, others are opaque or semi-opaque. Some brands just say
“Transparent” or “Semi-opaque” as opposed to assigning a specific symbol to it.
So when I chose my paint for glazing-applying transparent layers of paint-I
look at the square/ or a note on transparency to determine if my paint is
naturally good for glazing. Some transparent colors are Gamblin’s ultramarine
blue, Michael Harding’s bright yellow lake, or Charvin’s transparent yellow
ochre, etc. Opaque or semi-opaque colors are often good for scumbling.

2. Pigments used
in oil paint determine the lightfastness (resistance to light) or longevity of
your art.

This is the most important principle
in choosing your paint. While some basic colors have just one pigment, there
are many colors that consist of several pigments mixed together along with oil,
fillers, and binders. These “new”, not historical colors give artists a lot
more color choices but each pigment present in such paint tube should be
checked for lighfastness separately. For example, Winton flesh tint has 4
pigments in it (PW6, PW5, PY42, and PV19).

Each company performs its own tests
on lightfastness of the oil paint. This information is included on the tube
too. It reads either as +, ++ or +++, or lightfastness 1, lightfastness 2, or
lightfastness 3 and so on. The higher the number (3-4) the less lightfast the
paint is. By nature, browns and ochres are often more lightfast than some funky
colors, like alizarin crimson or turquoise. Those colors that have lightfastness
3-4 are fugitive and fade pretty quickly. If you paint professionally, those
colors should be avoided painting with.

All paints have some oil
premixed into the paint. Linseed oil-is
the most stable oil that is also used widely as paint medium by artists. It’s
long-lasting and dries quite quickly.

Safflower oil, poppy
oil, and walnut oil are other,
less stable oils often used as vehicles mixed into tubed oil paint.

4. The amount of
fillers and binders present in oil paint.

Various amounts of fillers and
binders are mixed into oils as well. They dilute the pigment by “stretching”
the paint and thus making it cheaper to the consumer. Fillers and binders
greatly affect the consistency and texture of paint. It could affect the drying
speed of paint as well. Rublev colors, manufactured by Natural Pigments, don't
have any filler in their paint making the oils more stable and with high
tinting strength. Like other professional-grade paints, they give artists a lot
more pigment placed in a small tube as opposed to cheaper oil paint
manufactured in a much larger tube.

Professional brands of oil paints include:

-Rublev colors by NP

-Old Holland

-Michael Harding

-Gamblin

-Chroma, etc.

These are great resources for further research:

The atelier movement- a closed group on Facebook-exists for
artists interested in classical painting. The group’s administrator is classically
trained artist-Graydon Parrish.

Monday, August 4, 2014

Painting
is like poetry. It reveals something that is usually hidden, hidden within the
depth of our souls. Some call it “secrets,” others label it “privacy.” Whatever
that is artists and writers have the guts to deliver it, some do it half-way,
others all the way. As a result artists often become vulnerable.

My
work is not about photo-realism or copying of reality, rather it’s about
achieving realistic effects to believably convey emotions, ideas, and
relationships between people. My
painting is always infused with symbolism, which is sometimes unknown to my own
logical psyche until it’s complete. Asking the artist to explain his/her
painting is like pressing to extract the essence from it, to deliver the
“secret” that should be read by the viewer himself. It’s akin to asking writers
to give out the book’s ending without trying to read it on your own. After all,
painting is exciting while it remains unexplained. My works have multiple
endings, sometimes hidden from my own self. Because this type of art is not
decorative, it's destined to become part of some museum collection or a private
one in the future.

For
many my art is too edgy, weird, and unexplained but for some it’s beautiful and
evocative of their feelings and experiences. I recently sold pieces painted
several years back that communicated feelings of solitude I depicted in a range
of blues, trees, and the Moons. They finally connected with the right person
who found himself in the same place I used to be in. Although my work is
different today, it still relies on the same principles of symbolism and
emotion.

Why
masks?

“Man is
least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will
tell you the truth.”

Oscar
Wilde

Masks
deconstruct a person. They make it easy to imagine oneself behind it. There is
no association with a “particular” face and the story becomes a priority. Masks
also translate into something concealed and thus go beyond our obvious
associations.

Why
carnival figures?

I love
elaborate dress code with as many elements in it as possible. My affinity for
baroque style is obvious in works filled with detail, elegance, and beauty. Several years ago I made arrangements to go to
Venice, Italy during the carnival month to take pictures of dressed up people walking
the streets of ancient town. Venetian patterns, masks and gowns provide me with
infinite inspiration.

Paintings:

Tenderness, oil on canvas, 26x34 inches

This
work is about sincere feelings of love, affection, and care, which is depicted
through the use of warm colors in the background and the sunlit fabric of the figure.
Little birds, flowers, and ribbons signify tender, fragile state of the heart. Usually,
female figures depict such feelings but I wanted to break away from such tradition
and depict a male figure that could be as elegant and pure.

Promises, oil on gilded panel, aluminum leaf, 26x34 inches

This
painting is about the early stage of relationship when many promises are given
to each other. Thus I have two figures
facing each other. Red signifies love.

Keeper, oil on canvas, 48x36 inches

Keeper
is about forces or powers that go way beyond our understanding or reach.

Hidden II, oil on canvas, 26x34 inches

Hidden I
and Hidden II

This work
is about keeping the key to yourself, your own heart, hiding from others your
most vulnerable self.

Colored
Pencil Drawings:

I am
influenced by Baroque art that can be described as “over the top,” every corner
of a painting or a church is taken over by incredibly elaborate set of
information. While my colored pencil drawings are simply studies of light and
shapes, they follow the principle of elaborate elegance. Drawings are based on
my pictures taken in various churches, palaces and other beautiful places.

Chandeliers
of Versailles

All drawings are about 9x12 inches, each took about 50 hrs to complete, drawn with light-fast pencils on paper (archival quality materials).

To see
more art visit: VeronicasArt.com

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

This is a
fun project to draw in colored pencil with kids and adults alike.

Supply
list:

* Canson’s Mi-Teintes pastel paper, beige (smooth
side)

* Prismacolor Premier colored pencils (colors listed
in steps); they can be replaced with other soft, colored pencils

* Turpanoid/Gamsol and a small brush for burnishing
(blending)

* General’s pencil sharpener

* Transfer paper, sketch paper

* Kneaded eraser

*
Fixative: Krylon UV Resistant Clear Gloss

Step 1

Step 1: After the basic drawing is completed on sketch
paper, transfer it to your color paper. I almost always make my preliminary
drawing on sketch paper to keep it clean. The accuracy of the outline is vital
to creating realist drawings.

I
transfer the outlines using white transfer paper. Its lines are easy to erase,
leaving no residue.

Then, I
strengthen some lines in colored pencil to separate shapes.

MAKE
SURE YOU USE THE SMOOTH SIDE OF YOUR DRAWING PAPER!

Here I
used dark brown (substitute with any dark brown pencil, like raw umber) and
dark green to map out the dark spots on lizard’s skin and the cast shadow.

Step 2

Step2:
I blocked in the background with indigo blue and the same dark brown (a
combination of any dark colors will work well). I added grass green and apple
green in the background’s middle tones, and spring green in the light.

To strengthen
the pattern on the skin, I added a combination of violet, indigo blue, and dark
green.

For the
eye, I used indigo blue and dark brown to outline it and draw the iris in. I
drew darker values (tones) on the left side of the eye, while deliberately using
lighter tones on the right.

Step3: I used turpenoid to blend the background
colors and a few spots present on the skin. I let it dry completely. Make sure
you use a small brush for your blending with solvents that is not used for
anything else. Solvents melt wax in wax-based pencils.

Step 4

Step4: Essentially I layered the same
colors in the background and added a few more that included poppy red,
aquamarine, light aqua, and limepeel. For the light values of the skin, I introduced
parma violet and cloud blue drawing with heavy pencil pressure.

What’s important to understand
drawing gecko is to see how the skin pattern is shaped around its body’s gesture
or movement. Pay attention to NOT creating straight lines and repetitive
shapes. Create volume and dimension by curving the uneven lines around its arms
and feet.

Step 5

Step5: I used a little bit of canary yellow
and light pink to put the reflected light onto the gecko. I applied background
colors again with heavy pencil pressure. I stepped back to see the drawing from
the distance checking values and edges.

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Yes, the U.S. is a rather poor place culturally. Before
you devour me for such coarse statement saying that I can't appreciate the
country, which is my home, let me explain. As much as I like living here being
fond of the opportunities, nurture of talents and entrepreneurial spirit (that
doesn't seem to exist anywhere else in the same capacity) this country scores
low in cultural destinations, art, and historically valuable objects to be
found in Europe.

Yes, it's not quite your fault, America. You are a brand
new spirit with all its democracy, consumerism, big cars, McDonald’s and truly,
truly great National parks, wide roads, conveniences, and numerous choices. But
this great country of innovation really misses out on art. Art that contributes
to every creative fiber of your soul is not part of your mind.

Alas to Europe. It's a very lucky place art-wise. Almost
every city, town, and even village has a timeworn center with ancient church at
its heart. Old streets glimmer with past: buildings can be attributed to
periods, churches hold artworks, amazing decorations, stained glass, and
ancient altar pieces; houses, castles, and palaces are museums, fountains are
monuments, classical sculptures are integral parts of gardens and city squares,
and murals or paintings of various time periods envelop every corner of the European
citadel. If your soul desires a change of atmosphere, go out, it's right there
on the street!

No wonder Europeans are so appreciative of the arts and
the artists. When you are raised with art as an integral part of your life, you
inner-self finds peace and moral satisfaction by looking at paintings and
sculptures, by analyzing or interpreting the themes, by passing by the art on
the street, discovering life lived before us. The creativity is set deep within
you like a clock while you are still a kid to think out-of-the-box as an adult
of any profession, not just fashion, design, painting, or architecture. The
subtle shift in priorities-from mundane to spiritual-actually makes us much
happier people, living fuller life.

The U.S. does make steps toward the happiness of its nation.
Culture can be found in beautiful American museums, places that are expansive,
well-lit, diverse, and affordable for most of us to attend. Maybe, it's time
for America to raise its core standards, to hire professionals to teach art in
public schools, to let cities sponsor artists to create a lot more public art
than we currently have, to develop art-infused programs and events that matter,
inspire, and nurture the culture from within. Artists will not only find
permanent employment, a respectful place in modern society, but will also contribute
to spiritual development of those who seek.

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Art Lessons in Realist Drawing, Painting, and Beyond:

Interviews and Step-by-Step Demonstrations with International Artists

Did you know that you can meet a dozen of awesome contemporary artists in one place?

Did you know that you can expand your understanding, appreciation, and passion for the arts in a breeze?

Did you know that that you can learn how to draw realistically in colored pencil, paint in oil and acrylic, and even think in terms of 3-D design?

Do you want to enter the artist's mind? Do you want to think and see creatively by looking at artists' step-by-step demonstrations?

Do you want to give instant inspiration to your friends, relatives, and people you care about?

Do you want to know what tools of the trade professional artists use?

Do you want to have fun learning stuff?

Do you want to find original content?

Do you want to give teens and aspiring artists alike fresh ideas and joy of reading?

If you crave this information, there are images, instructions, interviews, and demonstrations present in this new book!

========================================

Both printed copies and digital books are on sale now.

Visit this page to buy it from the artist and editor: http://www.veronicasart.com/ArtLessons.shtml

International orders are fulfilled by contacting the editor. Intl rate shipping applies for all orders.

Or go to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lessons-Realist-Drawing-Painting-Beyond/dp/149967984X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1404007223&sr=8-2&keywords=art+lessons+veronica+winters

Amazon delivers internationally in some markets.

=======================================

Contemporary artists working in the field who are included in the book:

Anne-Marie Kornachuk, Canada–oil painting

Beth Sistrunk, U.S.A.–oil painting

David Gluck, Canada–oil painting

Helen Nodding, U.K.–pen and ink, mixed media

K. Henderson, U.S.A.–oil painting

Tanja Gant, U.S.A.–colored pencil

Ann Kullberg, U.S.A.–colored pencil

Karen Hull, Australia–colored pencil, mixed media

Daniel Sprick, U.S.A.–oil painting

Linda Lucas Hardy, U.S.A.–colored pencil

Julie Impens, U.K.–paper cutting, mixed media

Joanne Miller Rafferty, U.S.A.–acrylic painting, mixed media

Veronica Winters, U.S.A.–oil painting, colored pencil

=========================================
In Art Lessons in Realist Drawing, Painting, and Beyond: Interviews and Step-by-Step
Demonstrations with International Artists, fine artist and editor Veronica Winters
offers a rare chance to see in one publication 13 emerging and established
contemporary realist artists at work. The book features interviews with
international artists, explaining their creative processes and ideas in drawing,
painting, and beyond. Artists talk about their art, technique, and life, showcasing
their craft in numerous full-color illustrations and step-by-step demonstrations.
This book helps readers to develop their artistic skills, learn the nuances of
working in different media, and grow their appreciation for the arts. The book is
a great gift for teen artists, adult art enthusiasts, and any creative soul searching
for inspiration, motivation, and technique.